Hurricane Gustav crushes Leif's house

Baton Rouge — A tree smashed through the Founder's home Monday afternoon during Hurricane Gustav's onslaught of southern Louisiana.

Fifteen minutes after a tree smashed through the roof and wall of the master bedroom on Monday.

The attack took place at roughly 13:30 when wind gusts were reportedly blowing in excess of 90 miles per hour. Leif and three others were taking shelter in his Southdowns home.

"I was in the sunroom at the time, looking out at the neighbor's house," said Leif. "In the corner of my eye, I saw branches getting closer and closer, so I ran away through the living room as the tree crashed into the house."

The fire alarm went off, causing the four inhabitants riding out the storm to momentarily really freak out.

"I ran through the house," said the Founder. "The ceiling in the guest bedroom was punched through. The window in the back bedroom was gone. Knocked out. The ceiling was bent in, and rain was coming in."

Thinking quickly, he began hauling out the queen-sized bed and other belongings from the two damaged rooms, fearing the rain and further ceiling collapse. The foursome then huddled in the hallway as they saw more trees collapsing around the house outside the front windows.

"We didn't know if the next tree would come down on the front of the house or on the back," said the Founder. "The winds weren't stopping, so it seemed inevitable."

The winds eventually slowed down and no further trees fell on the house, though they did fall in the driveway and on the power lines leading to the house, tearing the power meter out of the wall.

Leif and his cohorts evacuated the city on Tuesday night to take refuge in Lafayette through the weekend.